The death of a young pilot who mysteriously fell out of a small aircraft in North Carolina in July had opened up a hatch to throw up when he accidentally plummeted to the ground, officials said.

Charles Hew Crooks, 23, had complained that he was feeling unwell before he fell on July 29 from a plane as it prepared to make an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. , according to his autopsy report obtained by WRAL.

The investigation into his deadly fall “concluded that the decedent had gone aft, likely to vomit from the open ramp, and accidentally fallen from the aircraft,” the autopsy said.

His death was ruled an accident.

Crooks and the pilot-in-command had been flying for a private company that was dropping skydivers in a small field.

While dropping off the skydivers, the 1983 CASA C-212 encountered an issue with its landing gear, prompting the pilot-in-command to notify air traffic control and change course to make an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

The plane then encountered turbulence and Crooks told the pilot he was not feeling well, according to the autopsy report.

“They were flying at approximately 3500 feet with the rear ramp open for ventilation. The aircraft encountered moderate turbulence,” the report said.

Crooks is believed to have walked toward the open ramp to vomit when he accidentally fell to his death.

“At some point, the decedent (copilot) opened a cockpit window for ventilation and possibly to vomit. Sometime after, he told the pilot that he felt he was going to be sick and apologized. He then departed the cockpit towards the open rear ramp; at some point, the pilot realized that he had apparently fallen from the aircraft.”

According to earlier reports, Crooks had been upset moments before falling to his death because the plane was forced to divert to another airport for an emergency landing.

The pilot-in-command, who has not been named, told investigators that the pair was conducting skydiving runs that afternoon. Crooks was flying an approach to Raeford West Airport when the aircraft “dropped” and the right main landing gear impacted the runway.

Crooks was apparently “visibly upset” by his botched attempted landing. After the plane was taken over by the pilot-in-command and they began experiencing turbulence, Crooks said he was feeling sick and opened the cockpit window at 3,500 feet.

His body was later found in a Fuquay-Varina backyard, hours after the pilot-in-command landed the plane safely and without injuries at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

No drugs or alcohol were found in his system at the time of his death, but officials said he had broken multiple bones and damaged his heart, lungs and other internal organs in the fall.